BLOG CLASS SESSION 3 - POSTINGS

To create your first post, go to your DASHBOARD again.

Select "New Post" under your blog name.

You will see the Display Name of your blog and 4 tabs. Posting, Settings, Layout and View Blog.

Feel free to explore the tabs and links under each tab.

Now go back to the Posting tab, Create.

Type a title of your post. In the editing window, type in a little narrative of why you named your website what you named it, the purpose and any bio info you would like to add. When you are done, click the ORANGE button at the bottom "Publish Post."

It will let you know that it published successfully. Take a look at it now by clicking "View Blog." I like to choose "(In a new window)," but that's your choice. When you want to go back and edit it, click "Edit Post."

Now, if you recall my first posting about how to change fonts, text size, bold, italics, color and justification of the text. Fool around with that a little and see what happens. Each time you make a change, publish post again and look at it.

For the purpose of the community blog, it will be important to label your post each time with your name and topics covered. Enter those lables now at the bottom of the posting window. It says "Labels for this post: e.g. scooters, vacation, fall" My lables on this posting are INSTRUCTIONS and Kim.

BLOG CLASS SESSION 2 - EDIT PROFILE

Next go to the top of the screen next to your email address where it says "Dashboard."

Then click Edit Profile (circled in the box to the right).

EDIT USER PROFILE

Make your choices in the Privacy and Identy sections.

Your display name will be what shows when you sign a post. See my http://dreamsofmay.blogspot.com/. The desplay name is listed under each of my postings "Posted by Kim Coreson."

Continue to fill out as much or as little of this section as you like. Don't fret over filling out every little thing. If you don't know what it is, skip it for now. Then hit the ORANGE "save Profile" box at the bottom.

At the top of the page you will see "view profile." Click and see what your profile looks like. Compare it to my profile on http://dreamsofmay.blogspot.com/. Click "View my complete profile" on that site to see how the answers all feed into the final product. Make note of any changes you would like to make later. Changes can be made to this section at any time by going to the dashboard and clicking "Edit Profile."

Now click back to the Dashboard. We will go to our next section "POSTINGS"

BLOG CLASS SESSION 1 - PRELIMINARY SET UP

Hello Family!

I will teach my blog class here post by post so that you can all follow along and learn how to do this.

Each of you who want to take this class will decide to make a blog of your own. It's up to you what you do with it after the class. You can delete it, not delete it and ignore it, or you can use it.

The purpose of the class, however, is to learn how to use blogger and ultimately do a community blog together, as Stella has proposed.

Please follow along and I will teach you step by step how to use blogger.


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The first thing you need is an existing email address. If you're looking over someone's shoulder now and you want to do this but don't have an address... make one.

Next go to blogger.com



Follow the instructions "Create a blog in 3 easy steps"

Throughout this process, always look for a button or arrow in ORANGE.

As we go through this process, I will refer to my http://dreamsofmay.blogspot.com/ as an example of the elements you will encounter.

Click "Create Your Blog Now" (the ORANGE arrow)

STEP ONE - CREATE AN ACCOUNT:

Enter:

Email address
Password
Retype password
Display name (see http://dreamsofmay.blogspot.com/ My display name is "A Collection of Writings")
Now type in the wobbly word that you see
Check that you accept the terms of service
Click ORANGE arrow "Continue"


STEP TWO - NAME YOUR BLOG:


Blog Title
Blog Address (This may take several tries, according to what is available.)

TIP: Remember that if you are going to share your address with others, it needs to be memorable, spell-able, not a bunch of weird characters, underscores and stuff like that. If you are just doing this as a test, feel free to name it whatever you wish. Those other things won't matter if you don't intend to share it. Like you can make the address http://my_super__test-blog.blogspot.com/ It would be hard to tell someone, "Hey, go to my underscore super underscore underscore test hyphen blog dot blogspot dot com"

Click ORANGE arrow "Continue"


STEP THREE - CHOOSE A TEMPLATE

Select the template you want.

To get a sneak peek, click "preview template". This can be changed at any time.
Click the ORANGE arrow at the bottom of the page. (Use the scroll bar at the far right to scroll down and find it.)